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Misc.Sep 1, 2017

Why do tech companies avoid the Midwest?

I work as a software engineer for a startup company in the northern part of the Midwestern U.S. I make about $80K/year, with benefits, which may seem small... but honestly it's plenty. I have my student loans paid off. I have my car and motorcycle paid off. I own a 3-bedroom home, with a fenced in yard where the animals can play, and which is only a 20-minute commute from the office. I'm lazy so instead of cooking I end up eating out a lot. And I still have money left over each month for dates, entertainment, and recreation. In other words (especially when compared with California), the cost of living is extremely low, and life is good. I would never in a million years sacrifice what I've got going here to go out west to Silicon Valley. I would certainly make a lot more there but my quality of life would almost certainly go way down. So why aren't more tech companies setting up offices in the Midwest? The cost of living is so low here. For companies like Google, Microsoft, Facebook, it would cost them very little, comparatively. In the Midwest you don't need a $400K salary to survive; you can live comfortably with only $80K. Those companies could get away with paying a lot less here and nobody would complain. Why do the major players stay away?

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whodatwho Sep 1, 2017

Probably because top talent doesnt want to live there

WRKSHP 🌧️☔ Sep 1, 2017

^^^

Oracle mtnmaniac Sep 1, 2017

This. Mostly this.

Cisco UuvB46 Sep 1, 2017

Yep. It's a great deal, financially, sure. But that's not the paramount goal for many people. I'll gladly pay more to spend my 20s (and probably beyond) in a vibrant city. Those experiences are priceless to me.

Yahoo dmcc37 Sep 8, 2017

I am an Indian. Well tech crowd is full of Asians plus Indians. I won't move to Midwest, for I am scared of guns.

Amazon Gatorade Sep 8, 2017

You are an Indian and an ignorant

Yahoo dmcc37 Sep 8, 2017

Well, then find informed Americans to work with in Midwest. For me USA doesn't exit beyond 50 miles of Silicon Valley. Except of course HAWAII Puerto Rico and Tahoe and Yosemite Ski resorts.. 😀😀. Don't judge. I just told you what I feel.

Amazon Gatorade Sep 8, 2017

I didn't judge you, I just stated 2 facts

This comment was deleted by the original commenter.
Accenture obamacare Sep 1, 2017

Yeah that was in KC, supposedly the more tolerant and welcoming metro than stl. If you're a first gen immigrant whose primary concerns are food on the table and a roof over your head the Midwest is adequate. Second gen brown/asian people are going to be unwelcome here. To give you an example, I knew an Asian guy from NYC who went to the local T14 law school and loved it here, except none of the "whites only" local firms wanted to hire him so he had to leave to get a job. When you heave away people who love you unconditionally maybe you are not a good place to live.

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Graphix32 Sep 1, 2017

That is completely false; Tulsa is a very diverse city that caters to getting people here. I know a lot of people here that are from middle eastern countries, and various places aroubd Europe and Russia. You can't go off of the actions of a few to classify the whole.

Accenture obamacare Sep 1, 2017

Lmao a handful of token immigrants and minorities did not make a city diverse. San Jose is majority Asian and many cities in Texas have a white minority. Do you think your average white midwesterner who grew up in 90% white cities can deal with that kind of demographic shift?

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MachoMan Sep 1, 2017

Most white westerners will be horrified the day their neighborhoods starts filling up with immigrant indians and asians

Accenture obamacare Sep 1, 2017

It's already happening. A local suburb recently became 15% Indian and there is an exodus of first gen white flighters out

BlackBerry Геннадий🍭 Sep 1, 2017

Which city is this?

Microsoft fucov Sep 1, 2017

it already is. Whites will be horrified when they realize how low on the economic spectrum they are. Indians and Chinese are taking all the jobs. Hope y'all like Curry and Fried rice

Amazon 🚽 👨👅👅 Sep 4, 2017

I think a lot of posters in this thread have never been to the Midwest

Instructure inst1 Sep 4, 2017

Yeah, it's pretty obvious when people act like Broadway shows, fine dining, etc are exclusive to the coasts. :-/

Apple Limo Sep 4, 2017

Not exclusive to the coasts, but you certainly won't get as much variety as you would in the coasts.

Athenahealth duderino Sep 4, 2017

Other than Chicago, there arent many cities in the midwest that can compete with the sheer number of options you have to do anything.

Oracle Byebye Sep 1, 2017

I will never get near a state that elected Trump.

Microsoft Jim Raynor Sep 1, 2017

But you certainly have no problem living in this country for the next 8 years

Oracle Byebye Sep 1, 2017

I do have problems and I am a us citizen. Why would I go anywhere?

Microsoft Jim Raynor Sep 1, 2017

Because you live in a country that elected Trump

Nike sq1713 Sep 2, 2017

I lived in the Midwest for several years before moving to PNW. Calling all midwesterners racist, dumb, or whatever is as rude and intolerant as painting all coastal dwellers as elitist bleeding heart liberals. How about treating people as individuals instead of generalizing like a bunch of assholes.

Flagged by the community.
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IWannaByte Sep 3, 2017

Dumb? Hicks? I take full offense to that! I live in the Midwest! I'm a software engineer! I see more people under-educated on the coasts who are repeatedly proven to be ignorant and self absorbed. I've dealt with people on the phone who dont even know where Nebraska is! And people who thought trump should be arrested for hunting dinosaurs! Whoever you are, keep your comments like such to yourself! I work on the silicone prairie! And I would never want to work with or associate myself with a person of your low caliber! Yeah, you may make 3 times what I do. But, I can sleep with a good conscience at night! And have friends who would die for me!

Amazon spiddyocky Sep 3, 2017

@IByte: we coastals sleep with a good conscience... wtf are you talking about? Your prairie sucks.

Microsoft slay Sep 4, 2017

The Midwest is racist as fuck. Over half the talent in tech are minority groups. How can you convince an Asian, or Indian, or Arab, or black to move to the Midwest to be persecuted in public by fellow Americans and shot by rogue officers?

Microsoft Jim Raynor Sep 4, 2017

Great idea. Let's move all white jobs to the Midwest. Minorities stay in California.

Accenture obamacare Sep 5, 2017

I will cosign this. Only person to ever refuse to shake my hand was a white VP of technology for a St. Louis regional corporation

Amazon ctiff Sep 14, 2017

Based on what? Your lowly educated opinion? Social media memes? Unlike you, i actually do business throughout the country and work for AMZ to keep my level of boredom down. I actually participate in ownership of a company with mfg throughout the midwest and west. SEA, PHX, SMF, DEN, and LAS are the most racially polarizing locations. The most racially diverse locations are SAT and MSP. SEA and SMF are where degreed employees suck the most

Accenture obamacare Sep 1, 2017

Because the rust belt is a crumbling shithole. Outside of Minneapolis/Chicago most midwestern cities lived and died with manufacturing and local leadership is more concerned with making sure entrenched interests are fed than encouraging new industries and investment. When the tax pie is growing cities can offer bike shares, nice downtown pedestrian malls, and other amenities that appeal to young tech workers. When the tax base shrinks watch fragmented municipalities knife fight each other over a shrinking pond every year. Nearly all my friends have moved to Austin/Seattle/Denver/NYC and when I finish my masters I am heading that direction too. Staying in your midwestern home city these days is a tacit sign of failure when it comes to tech.

LinkedIn Dr Nefario Sep 3, 2017

Yep.

Twitter BdgD74 Oct 7, 2017

The Midwest is great if you are white. The subtle constant racism gets old very fast for those of us that aren't white.

Amazon Solong Oct 8, 2017

It can be great if you are white, Christian, and a native English speaker. If you are not Christian or if born in another country, it really sucks. When I lived in Chicago, I was totally alienated because everyone talked about church and American sports (football and baseball) all the time.

Twitter BdgD74 Oct 8, 2017

Good point! Blatant racism and alienation is easy enough for most people to spot and denounce. What's harder to deal with is the kind of "death by a 1000 paper cuts" kind of situation you describe. When I was in the Midwest random people would talk me to as if I were an idiot only because I looked different. As an example: I don't mean to toot my own horn but I have a PhD in computer science and can figure out how to use a gas pump, unnecessarily patronizing gas station owner. No amount of cost of living advantage is worth sacrificing one's own dignity.

Amazon Solong Oct 8, 2017

I’m white but not Christian and grew up in a non-English speaking community in NYC. I was a total pariah in Chicago. My roommate who was from the Dominican Republic was an outcast as well because everyone assumed she was African American, but she didn’t care about American sports or soul food. I couldn’t wait to get out of the provincial Midwest as soon as possible—and I’m never going back.